Electronic wearable device

a wearable device and electronic technology, applied in the direction of antenna details, slot antennas, antennas, etc., can solve the problems of not being able to use described structures in metal-covered devices, unable to incorporate antennas into wearable devices, and unable to use conductive materials in the device housing

Active Publication Date: 2007-09-18
SUUNTO OY
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]It is an aim of the present invention to eliminate some of the problems of the prior art and to provide a wearable device having a novel antenna construction.
[0018]Considerable advantages are obtained by means of the invention. In particular, the invention allows the use of partly or fully conductive cover to be used in a wirelessly communicating wearable device without significant attenuation of signal due to the cover. In addition, a slot antenna placed on the outer cover is easy to manufacture and is relatively weakly coupled to other electronic and conductive parts of the device due to its peripheral location. The cover acts as a conductive cage causing the antenna to radiate primarily to the exterior of the device.
[0019]The slot can be formed to a metal cover in the manufacturing stage of the cover. Typically, such covers are fabricated from a single block of metal, whereby forming of the slot would be only a minor sub-step in that stage. Moreover, in the assembling stage of the device, no additional steps would be needed because of the antenna. Thus, such a solution does necessitate any complex mechanical or electrical arrangements within the device, whereby the number of components and further the size of the device can be kept small. Efficient utilization of the housing of the device as the radiating element gives also relatively free hands for placing of other components within the housing.
[0020]Placing the antenna on the outer housing of the device enables making the effective dimension of the antenna larger, and therefore using longer wavelengths, than if the antenna is placed in the interior parts of the device. In addition, directioning of radiation can be adjusted by the three-dimensional structure of the conductive portions of the cover.

Problems solved by technology

However, incorporating an antenna into a wearable device is a challenging task due to size limitations, great amount of electronic components in proximity to each other and due to the closeness of human body.
A major drawback of the wearable devices referred to above is that because the antenna is located deep inside the housing of the device, conductive materials can not be used in the housing of the device due to the resulting attenuation of the signal.
Thus, the described structures can not be used in metal-cased or metal-covered devices.
In addition, antenna takes a lot of space inside the device and couples easily to the circuitry of the device, whereby the placing of the parts has to be made taking into account the proximity of the antenna.

Method used

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Examples

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first embodiment

[0036] shown in FIG. 1, the cover 11 is essentially entirely made of conductive material, whereby a slot 12 is fabricated directly to the cover. The slot 12 can be an opening having a length relative to the desired wavelength, on the brim of the cover 11. Longitudinally oriented boundaries of the slot 12 are denoted with reference numerals 15 and 16 and transverse boundaries with reference numerals 17 and 18. The slot 12 can be formed simply by forming a cut to the cover material, for example, by sawing, drilling or chamfering.

second embodiment

[0037] shown in FIG. 2, the cover 21 comprises at least two separate parts 24, 29 (slot-forming members), which are attached together in order to form a slot 22 between the parts. A particularly advantageous embodiment is achieved by providing a first cover part 29 forming the first boundary 25 of the slot 22, and optionally also the extremities 27, 28 of the slot. The slot 22 is completed by providing the second boundary 26 in the form of second cover part 24, such as a separate conductive plate, ring, rod or equivalent onto the first cover part 29. The second cover part can be a special-purpose element or a part of the dial portion of the device, for example, a bezel or another member which is used for mounting a glass, a window or a display to the device. The electrical contact of the plate or ring with the first cover part has to be assured by sufficient clamping of the parts and / or by using a proper contacting substance. The slot-forming members 29, 24 can also be fastened to e...

third embodiment

[0038] illustrated in FIG. 3, the cover 31 is partly made of first material 34 and partly of second material 39 (or a plurality of first and second materials). The slot is formed in the second material portion 39 of the cover, the second material portion being electrically conductive. The second material can be in the form of a plate, film or foil, which is preferably attached on the outer surface of the cover. In FIG. 3, the slot 32 is formed on a narrow foil 39, which is applied on the outer surface of the first material portion 34. The first material portion can also be essentially entirely coated with second material, into which the slot 32 is formed. This embodiment allows a slot antenna being formed also on devices which have a mainly dielectric housing (dielectric first material portion 34) made of plastic, for example. The second material portion of the cover may be brought onto the first material, for example, by conventional metallization techniques, laminating, glueing, v...

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PUM

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Abstract

The invention concerns a wrist-wearable electronic device comprising a slot antenna and a method of manufacturing the slot antenna. Such a device comprises an outer housing defining an assembly zone and a radio unit contained within the assembly zone. According to the invention the outer housing is made at least partly of conductive material and comprises an integral slot antenna formed in the conductive material portion thereof, the antenna being electrically connected to the radio unit. The invention provides a convenient antenna structure for wirelessly communicating wristop computers and the like.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to wearable electronic devices. In particular, the invention concerns a wrist-worn device, such as a wristop computer, which has an antenna for communicating wirelessly with other electronic devices. In addition, the invention concerns a method for the manufacture of an antenna for wearable devices.[0003]2. Description of Related Art[0004]Antennas have been assembled into wristop computers for some time for allowing wireless data transfer into and out of the device. However, incorporating an antenna into a wearable device is a challenging task due to size limitations, great amount of electronic components in proximity to each other and due to the closeness of human body.[0005]The patent application US 2002 / 0098807 discloses a wrist device with an integrated loop antenna. The loop is placed in the same plane with other electronic circuitry of the device such that some of the electronics is l...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Patents(United States)
IPC IPC(8): H01Q1/12H01Q13/10
CPCH01Q1/273H01Q13/10
Inventor PUURI, HEIKKI
Owner SUUNTO OY
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